Sales – Art or Science?

The case for the scientists
Which side of the fence do you sit? Are salesmen born salesmen, or are they made? Is selling a science, something that can be broken down into a logical sequence of components or, is it an individually tailored art?

If I was making a case for the scientists then my first expert witness would be Robert Cialdini, Regents’ Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University whose book ‘Influence – Science and Practice’ was described by no less an authority than Tom Peters as “The best and best researched book EVER on this topic.”

Cialdini has identified six principles of persuasion that he believes, when mastered, are all you need to become an expert at sales.


Principle one: Authority
Virgil put it succinctly: “Follow an expert”. If you can persuade your future customers that your business, product or service is the expert choice, then you’ll have a head and shoulders advantage over your competitors. IBM understood this principle and exploited it extremely well for many years, gaining market share and higher profit margins simply by being the authority in the computer sector.


Principle two: Scarcity
All too often, people want something more if they can’t have it. Recently, when choosing a new desk for my home office, I came across Herman Miller’s ‘Burdick’ design. The salesperson on duty told me that there was a minimum 20 week delivery on it largely due to the fact that only two or three are ordered each year in this country! Unsurprisingly, my interest in it doubled once I had hold of this information. Many manufacturers of luxury goods exploit the scarcity tactic - Alain Silberstein for example seems to sell as many limited edition watches as those from a standard range.


Principle three: Social Proof
If your customers see people like them using your products and services then that’s often all the recommendation needed. There are numerous examples of companies that achieve Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point” with possibly the iPod being the best as it was first adopted by cool media types, who copied each other, then by kids, who copied each other and now by mums and dads, who are also copying each other.


Principle four: Reciprocation
Professor Cialdini carried out many experiments which prove that if you give someone something, then typically they feel compelled to repay the favour or ‘debt’ as it were. This is the reason why corporate hospitality is so successful – despite the fact we know that accepting the invitation will make us feel obligated, we still go ahead even when the repayment of the ‘debt’ is totally disproportionate in size.


Principle five: Commitment and Consistency
Leonardo Da Vinci observed that “It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end”. This is a point well illustrated by a number of charities who are very skilled at persuading people who have made a small donation to increase their generosity and involvement over time. By starting with a small sale you have the opportunity to develop a relationship and significantly improve your chances of landing a bigger one. The key, according to Cialdini, is to get buyers to make public commitments which they subsequently feel compelled to act upon. For example, I have always believed that Sony makes the best televisions around, a belief that I have stated previously (and here I go again). Guess which brand I’ve selected for my new home?


Principle six: Liking
Sometimes there’s very little to distinguish between one company’s products and services from another’s within the same sector and all too frequently, people make their decision based purely on the company they “like”. The insurance companies understand this well - Direct Line’s ‘Red Telephone’, and ‘Churchill’ the dog, have persuaded far many more people to move insurer than a plethora of factual-based campaigns.

The real magic comes when a business successfully applies several of these principles of persuasion together. The supermarkets illustrate this claim well, cloaking themselves in authority by virtue of both their size and their specialist counters and food ranges. Often, they will seemingly limit the supply of certain items, freshly baked bread for example, by way of tempting us with a few loaves at a time. In addition, the supermarket car park provides social proof that others like us are shopping there too. What’s more, with loyalty cards, they use reciprocation to get us to shop for more and more items, more frequently, so that we effectively become committed to one supermarket. Perhaps we haven’t yet learned to like supermarkets, however their advertising campaigns all seem to be commitment focussed and whilst it’s probably not something we will publicly acknowledge, I find that many people will argue quite aggressively why their preferred supermarket is better than the others - and - if that isn’t a demonstration of liking, then I don’t know what is!

Professor Cialdini believes selling is a science and his argument is compelling. Next month though I’ll make the case for the artists.


Peter Knight is chairman of Phoenix, a communications agency, and author of the best-selling ‘HEMP: Highly Effective Marketing Plans’. If you run a real business and have come up with a stunning marketing plan, or you want help to create one, Peter would love to hear from you at pk@phoenixplc.com <mailto:pk@phoenixplc.com> pk@phoenixplc.com